CUE ATTACK

A Mildura man was airlifted to the Royal Alfred Hospital in Melbourne after being hit in the face with a billiard cue in the early hours of Sunday morning.

The 39-year-old man was allegedly struck to the side of the head as he walked along Wills Street by another man wielding half a billiard cue at approximately 2 am.

The man was initially treated at the Maryborough Hospital for lacerations to his ear, but after his condition worsened, the air ambulance was summoned to transport the man to the Royal Alfred Hospital.

Scans at the hospital revealed bleeding on the man’s brain and facial fractures, believed to be in the eye socket and cheekbone.

Following treatment, the man’s condition is now listed as stable.

Detectives from the Maryborough Criminal Investigation Unit arrested and interviewed a 35-year-old Maryborough man shortly after the incident, charging him with a number of offences, including intentionally causing serious injury.

It is believed the attack stemmed from an earlier verbal altercation at a nearby hotel between the victim and his brother-in-law and the alleged offender’s brother.

For the full story, see the current edition of The Maryborough Advertiser.